THE Blue Lake Golf Club held its first qualifying round for the Club Handicap Championship which as always attracted a full field of golfers looking to snare the coveted crown.
The handicap championship allows players to match it with anyone in their grade, with the craftier golfers going head-to-head with the longer hitters as some players give their opponents up to 10 or more strokes start.
In A Grade it is more open this year with no Anthony Williams or Dan Christian but there is still plenty of talent on show.
Brett Perryman and Michael Watts will be up against the youth of Callum Harvey while Tyson Ploenges is one of those who may have to give his opponent a couple of holes advantage.
You can never count out the wily veteran Richard Kuhn, a past winner, who always keeps his best for the championship.
In B Grade it will be youth up against experience with Jesse Foster and Tom Von Stanke pitting their game against the likes of John Robertson, another past winner, and veteran Colin Stratford.
C Grade looks wide open with Joe Pritchard and Robbie Drenthen out to an early lead with 69 apiece, then a fair drop back to a host of players on 73.
Brenton Speck is always there or thereabouts while Brian Dunn has a better game than his handicap shows.
On Saturday it was Perryman who took the overall win with his excellent 75-8-67.
Out of the blocks early Perryman started par, par, birdie and his only stumble was on the difficult par 4 fourth hole where he recorded a bogey for an outward 35.
He could not quite maintain the momentum but he had the runs on the board, with a disappointing double bogey on the 14th bringing him in with 40 which was still good enough for the win.
It was a different start for A Grade winner Watts with a double bogey on the first to get his round underway.
The difficulties continued over the next four holes before he found his rhythm to close out the front nine with four pars and a 41.
The pars continued over the back nine, going even better on the 14th with a birdie to come in three under his handicap for a nett 68.
A count back was required to separate second and third places with Harvey and Marc Dalton tied on 69.
Harvey (8 handicap) is showing some strong form after recently representing the South East and while the birdie putts did not drop for him there was plenty of regulation golf along the way.
Dalton will be wondering what he has to do to win a count back tie.
After going out in 36 with a birdie on the fifth, Dalton fired a blistering 34 off-the-stick on the back nine.
That should have been enough but he had to settle for third in the tightest of count backs.
A birdie on the ninth was a nice way for B Grade’s David Lamont to finish the front nine with a superb outward 38 – one of his best nines ever.
Just as he had thoughts of doing his winner’s speech the golfing gods brought him back to reality with double bogeys on the 10th and 17th which narrowly crept him over the line for the win with nett 68.
After some time away from the game the rustiness showed for Bryan Scott through the sixth, seventh and eighth holes but the pars along the way meant his game was not far away.
The doubles were reduced to just bogeys on the way in for a closing 40 and a nett 70 to take second place from Stephen Smith in a count back.
Smith was a lot more consistent with splits of 41 and 43, matching Scott on two of the last three holes, with his bogey on the last being the difference.
In C Grade both Pritchard and Drenthen turned up for the championship with some good form, both returning a nett 69.
Pritchard bounced back from a horror third hole to birdie the 11th, shaving eight shots off his front nine score of 49.
Drenthen battled hard to be the absolute champion, reeling off a number of pars himself but came up just short of Pritchard.
Chris Fry took third, with his birdie on the 12th giving cause for celebration.
Ball winners on the day included Little, Nick Childs, Tim Smith, Kieran Ashby, Jesse Foster, Vic Smith, Brenton Speck, Brayden Lane, Chris Hoggan, Ian Bown, Russell Lingham and Sam Bradbrook.
Hoggan and Bob White took out the pro shots on the fifth and 16th holes respectively while Wayne Dunford (B Grade) and Childs (A Grade) won their nearest the pins.
